Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece stated yesterday that the Greek Church will not respond the same way with the Fener regarding the penalty implemented by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Within the week, the Archbishop will call a meeting of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece to assess the situation created after the decisions reached by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The Government does not rule out the likelihood to undertake a mediating role if requested by both sides.

The issues under discussion will be bilateral defense cooperation, the situation in the wider region of southeastern Europe and the Middle East, international cooperation against terrorism, the modernization of the Greek armed forces and their important role in the security of the Olympic Games.

PASOK President Giorgos Papandreou made the announcement in a press conference for the presentation of the party's Political Declaration on June's Euro-elections.

Mr. Vougias, 52, is a transportation specialist and adjunct professor at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Polytechnic School. In 1998 and 2002, was a candidate mayor of Thessaloniki, the first time with Coalition of the Left, the Ecologists and the I ndependent and the second time with PASOK.

In 2000, he was elected state parliament deputy with PASOK and served as a Deputy Minister of Transportation.

Mr. Erdogan will have meetings with President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and Parliament President Anna Psarouda-Benaki.

The two Prime Ministers will discuss bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues.

On May 8, Mr. Erdogan will be on a private visit to the city of Komotini in Thrace, northeastern Greece.

A business delegation and members of the Turkish media will accompany Mr. Erdogan. A meeting of the Greek-Turkish Business Council will be held on the occasion of his visit to Athens.

The International Federation of Journalists stressed that there are unanswered questions among the press people regarding the deaths of 11 journalists and mass media personnel in Iraq.

The Association of Journalists of Daily Newspapers in Macedonia-Thrace, ESIEMTH, declared its persistence in the principles of free expression and free dissemination of ideas and information.

In 2003, 42 journalists were killed around the world, most of them in Asia and the Middle East, 1,460 were assaulted and 766 were arrested, while Iran is described as the largest prison for journalists.

The atmosphere was very positive and the main issues under discussion was the Cyprus issue and the Church issue in Greece.

Specifically, the Metropolites of Efesos, Pergamos, Philadelphia and France are expected to call on the government to delay the issuing of the presidential decrees for the appointment of the new Metropolites, the election of whom has been characterized a s invalid by the Patriarchate.

Called to comment on whether he hopes there will be a way out of the deadlock, Metropolite of Pergamos pointed out that, "we always hope, but we always become disappointed."

The Ecumenical Patriarchate delegation begins contacts with the country's political leadership, while later in the afternoon it will meet with Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis, who earlier had a meeting with Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis.

According to government sources, the government will proceed with the ratification of the presidential decrees for the appointment of the new Metropolites in the following days.

Tomorrow, the hierarchs will meet with Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, Minister of Education Marietta Giannakou and Coalition of the Left President Nikos Konstantopoulos. The four hierarchs are likely to meet with President Kostis Stephanopoulos and PA SOK President Giorgos Papandreou.

The President of PASOK requested a meeting today with Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece. In response, Archbishopric Press Office Director professor Konidaris stated that no meeting has been scheduled between the Archbishop and the lead er of PASOK. He added that the Archbishop has currently previous engagements to attend and with pleasure he will meet with Mr. Papandreou at a more suitable time.

Of the stocks trading today, 158 had gains and 140 had losses, while the value of 85 stocks remained unchanged.

According to information from the Greek Ministry of Defense, over 6 dogfights were recorded involving Greek and Turkish fighter jets.

Mr. Rousopoulos stressed that on one hand, the information society is a visible present and on the other, one-third of the earth's population does not enjoy the self-evident good of the freedom of the Press.

He also pointed out that criticism over those holding power and the respect toward the people, ethics, truth, and news reporting without exaggerations and excesses are the ingredients of the independent Press.

The visit lasted less than half an hour and according to information, the hierarchs reiterated the request to the government to delay the signing of the presidential decrees for the appointment of the new Metropolites, whose election was characterized as

invalid by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

The court found that the defendant did not give in time the order to turn on the "Fasten your seatbelts" indication in the passengers' cabin, causing as a result the freak accident of September 1999 while approaching the Airport of Bucharest for landing.

A total of 546 cameras, 283 of which will belong to the Ministry of Environment, Land Planning and Public Works, will gather information on the traffic situation in the wider Athens region and give the opportunity for action plans aimed at dealing with t he problems that could arise.

Mr. Souflias stated that this project has a budget of 55 million euros and will continue to be used after the Olympic Games in Athens are over.